Thursday, October 15, 2009

Letters of Intent by Rachel

Dear Fellow Coworker ~

When you come in one day patting yourself on the back for getting a flu shot, then wake up the next morning with red eyes, a runny nose, and a cough that would wake the deaf (pun most assuredly intended), please.keep.your.sick.butt.at.home.

See, I like you. But I do not like sharing airspace with your sickie germs.

Cuz Mr. Daddy and I were already struggling with a sick Itty Bit at home. Then all of those lovely contagious particles just happened to find their way to my workspace… cuz I seem to be real popular with the sniffly crowd.

Congrats… you leveled two grown adults who desperately needed to stay healthy for their sick kid. So this mom ended up not leaving the house for FOUR DAYS.

Do you have any idea what FOUR DAYS is like with a sick child and a sick husband? Let me tell you… sick husbands are the equivalent of 14 children. (I love you dear… let’s sleep in shifts next time, eh?)

And the Itty Bit who was recovering from his little cold? Ended up with a doozy of a worse one. So I’ve limped around for the last few days with snot covering approximately 42% of my shirt at any given time (you little stinker). And since any fever with a kidney patient is cause for a doctor visit, it of course meant waiting with the other eleventy hundred coughing, hacking, snot-nosed miserable children.

Seriously, dear coworker… while I treasure your charming presence, please maintain a distance equal to that between your home and our office next time you’re a bit under the weather.

Let me tell ya… it is wicked funny to walk through the medical center with your kid wearing one of these. Everyone backs away slowly while holding their breath… it’s a veritable Red Sea parting before you. And of course, they don’t know that this deaf chick can lipread “Oh my gosh, maybe he has SWINE FLU!!!

Totally not realizing that we put the darn thing on him to keep him from getting whatever THEY had! Fun times I tell ya… fun times.

Update: It is not the flu at all, just a head cold and an ear infection – and somehow he has MORE energy than usual?

~

Join Julie at Foursons for more Letters of Intent this week! She’s always a kick in the (low-rise) pants ;)

21 comments:

I agree--- SICK PEOPLE BELONG AT HOME!!!!!!!!!!! I am also tempted to wear a mask just to keep the people away from ME! LOL One sick adult is like 10 sick kids ANY day. Especially men. (Sorry Mr. Daddy) When they start to feel a little bit better but are still sick is when it is the worse. "Please get me this... please get me that... cough cough....." LOL

Oh boy, that is MY FAVORITE part of wearing masks here!!! Everyone thinks because we are foreign we have swine flu (cuz we can get it just from being white ya know!) I love it, it is the one and ONLY thing that keeps people away, and we too, do it to keep their germs off!!

(ok, this is a little bit of a hypothetical because we actually don't go around everywhere with masks, even though I would like too, and I dream of living in a bubble, but when we do, love it!)

Thank you for the gift! I updated our list and put your names on there!

OMGosh!!! Totally on of my BIGGEST pet peeves!!! I cannot stand when sick people go anywhere while sick!!! Yesterday a lady I know has a few sick children with H1N1 and her oldest she wanted him to do his LSAT and he wasn't feeling good himself...Well I'm betting you can guess what I'm going to say, she sent him. Made him go in the presence of who knows how many people!! I said to her can he not take it on another day?!?! No response.. UGHHH!!! People!!

Bahahahahaha! A kick in the low-rise pants? You are full of it this morning girl!

And I totally agree with you- if you're sick or your kid is sick stay home from work and school. It is ridiculous that people think it is OK to spread their germs like that.

I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall while Itty Bit was walking down the hall with a hospital mask. Hahahahahahaha. Some people are so stupid. I'm sure if it was Swine Flu he would have looked a little more ill or you would have been carrying him. HA!

WTF is wrong with people that do that? I mean, I so get that you can't stay home for a week with the common cold, but if you have a fever, stay home! GEEZ, the rest of the office does not want to be sick because you refuse to stay home. Tell them Rachel!!!

I hate it when sick people come to work. It is annoying and frustrating. Being pregnant I can't get sick! If I do, I 'm screwed because I can't even medicate myself!! I hope everyone is feeling better now.

During this time of year we try not to get in anyones face and cover our mouths with our arm not our hand. I am a germaphobic...I totally hear ya on this one. When I used to work many years ago, I worked for a boss that needed me there so bad, she told me to just come in even though I had been throwing up all night. I wonder what all the other workers would have though about that. I stayed home because I was so sick...but just that she requested that of me. RUDE.

You can't take a perfectly good sick day when you're actually sick! You save those sick days and use them for days when you just don't FEEL like going to work, and would rather be at the beach or park etc.

I've you're going to feel crummy, you might as well be at work, right?

I do remember a time when I had a stern talkin too by a boss of mine that was somewhat of an asshole. I had taken too many sick days, my toddler was still building up her immunities at the daycare, I was catching everything she caught, and her dad was a part time piece of shit. So there have been times that, yes, I did it ... I went to work sick! AND sent my kid to daycare sick too! Now that nothing gets my kid down and I do what I want at my company, I loath those that come in to work sick. And I cringe when they are hackin all over photocopier and touching door handles after blowing their noses ...

I sure hope you all feel better soon. We too have a lovely cold making its rounds here & I would take all three of my kids being sick for a week then deal with my hubby being sick for a day. So I feel your pain, I’ve been covered in snot for almost a week. ;)

Oh that is funny! I was wondering if he had the swine flu, too. ;) Good idea, though. YOu don't want your kid to catch all the assorted petrie dish of germs at the doctor's office.

I once got the flu from another coworker (well that's happened a few times I guess). This particular time I was required to work for 5 weeks straight...without a break. One day on a SUNDAY afternoon I called Brian crying because I felt so bad and wanted to go home. Some jobs need to be a little more understanding, too. I would have HAPPILY stayed home.

You poor things! So sorry you all got sick. That is just the WORST - and of course it's always still Mom who has to do all the cleaning and caretaking! At least you still have your sense of humor... "please maintain a distance equal to that between your home and our office" - classic! Feel better soon!!

Oh, I'm so sorry for all of you! Please get better soon! I agree that it's complete ignorance to expose others when you are sick--and I realize there are those really annoying bosses who fail to understand the toll it takes on an entire office when they don't INSIST that the sickies stay home. You can get those masks just about anywhere, and it pays to wear them to keep germs to yourself, as well as to keep other's germs away. Everyone should have some on hand. Meanwhile, get the chicken soup and apples out! They really do make a difference!

From what I understand, the doctors offices around here are requiring people have masks on in the building. I'll have to see when I take Jonathan for his flu shot...whenever our clinic gets more of the shot!